Music in the Mountains
Mountain Stage
Mountain Stage has been broadcasting authentic mountain sound out to the wide world for more than 30 years. The live audience recordings are usually at the Culture Center in Charleston on Sunday nights, but they can be heard on more than 150 radio stations around the world. Mountain Stage features performances from seasoned legends and emerging stars in genres ranging from folk, blues, and country; to indie rock, synth pop, world music, alternative, and beyond.
Mountain Music Trail
Real mountain music lives loud on West Virginia’s Route 219. Along this Mountain Music Trail, stop off at venues, festivals, events. Stop in Davis at the Purple Fiddle, known for top-quality mountain entertainment almost every day. Because it’s both a restaurant and a music venue, it’s a perfect family-friendly outing.
Carnegie Hall
One of only 4 Carnegie Halls in the world, the Georgian Revival building brings in world-class dance troupes, bluegrass, world and classical music, on top of a line-up of local performers. The family-friendly venue is the central heartbeat to the creative culture of Lewisburg, one of West Virginia’s prestigious certified arts towns.
Unique Stays at West Virginia State Parks
Thorny Mountain Fire Tower
Located above dense forest, the Thorny Mountain Fire Tower offers unforgettable 360 views. In the heart of Seneca State Forest, guests can reserve an exclusive overnight in this 1935 restored fire tower. Make your reservations up to a year in advance because this unique attraction books up fast.
Cass Company Houses
Mountain train rides, rich history, what could be better than a stay at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park? This historic park offers guests the option to reserve old-fashioned company houses from the early 1900’s.
History & Heritage
West Virginia State Museum
Take a journey through time and trek from a pre-historic coal forest into early western settlement and present-day wonders. Interactive exhibits with sound and lighting illustrate pivotal moments in West Virginia’s cultural, industrial and natural history. The West Virginia State Museum is free and open to the public.
Civil War Discovery Trail
The story of West Virginia provides great insight into the United States’ most definitive war. Originally a part of Virginia’s Old Dominion, West Virginia was literally birthed in the Civil War when it seceded from the Confederacy. Travel across West Virginia’s beautiful landscape and visit stops along the Civil War Discovery Trail, a national network of more than 300 historical sites about the conflict.
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Walk the streets of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park for a look into the 1800s life through picturesque streets, museum exhibits, and national battlefields.
There’s a 400-million-year-old ocean beneath West Virginia
The Iapetus Ocean, which predates the Atlantic Ocean, was ultimately shifted by geological forces and driven underground beneath the Appalachian Mountains. Today, seventh generation salt-makers at J. Q. Dickinson Salt-Works harvest their all-natural salt by hand on their family’s 200-year-old farm in Malden.
Parks & Public Lands
West Virginia is a four-season destination and the third most forested state in the U.S. Known as the “Mountain State,” West Virginia is the only state completely covered in the Appalachian Mountain Range.
West Virginia Maple Production
There are more untapped maple trees growing in West Virginia than anywhere else in America! That’s a sweet opportunity for the state, and it’s getting even sweeter. Almost 90 West Virginian syrup producers participated in a recent USDA survey that reported an average yield of 125 gallons per tap — a total of 6,000 gallons.
New River Gorge Bridge
Encompassing more than 70,000 acres along the New River, the New River Gorge National River boasts numerous scenic overlooks and recreational opportunities, including hiking, biking, white-water rafting and rock climbing. The 876-foot-high New River Gorge Bridge, opened in 1977, is one of the longest single-span arch bridges in the world. Bridge Day, held the third Saturday in October, is the largest single-day extreme sporting event in the world, during which thrill seekers come from all over to parachute or rappel off the bridge.
First Class Whitewater
The Gauley River, 25 miles of white-water with several class V+ rapids, has been designated as a National Recreation Area, and the neighbouring New River Gorge, a National River, is one of the oldest rivers on the continent and full of rugged rapids that flow north through deep canyons. Further south, the Bluestone National Scenic River flows through an ancient gorge in Athens, Pipestem and Hinton.
The Marvellous Monongahela Forest
Located in the North-Central highlands of West Virginia, the Monongahela National Forest combines breath-taking vistas, calming country roads and cliffside waterfalls to create a special retreat nestled in the Allegheny Mountains. Some of the state’s most unique points are located within the Monongahela National Forest: the Tuscarora quartzite fins of Seneca Rocks, the ridge of North Fork Mountain, the high-altitude plateau of Dolly Sods Wilderness, the bog wetlands of Cranberry Glades and the highest point in the state, Spruce Knob.
Scenic Road Trips
Enjoy a leisurely drive through the Eastern Panhandle, rich in history and heritage. Route 9 is the main thoroughfare in this area and will take you from Cacapon Resort State Park all the way down to Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Along the way, stop at one of the countless photo opportunities such as Berkeley Springs State Park, the B&O Round House in Martinsburg, and Paw Paw Tunnel. End the day with nice dinner at the Lot 12 Public House in Berkeley Springs before retiring for the night.
Leaf Peeping & Fall Train Rides
Cass Scenic Railroad: Bald Knob
Travel along the Cass Scenic Railroad to the third highest point in West Virginia: Bald Knob. This journey starts at the Cass Depot at Cass Scenic Railroad State Park. Operated by Durbin and Greenbrier Valley Railroad, the Cass Scenic Bald Knob trip is sure to leave you speechless. Children 3 and under enter for free.
For more information visit www.wvtourism.com. For media enquires please email David Venables david@ttmworld.co.uk and James White james@ttmworld.co.uk or call 0208 313 1717.